The old city of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam and Naha city, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, have come to an agreement on the third phase of the Eco-city Achievement Support Project.

The old city of Hoi An and Naha city of Japan have agreed the third phase of the Eco-city Achievement Support Project to turn Hoi An into an eco-tourist destination.

The project will provide support for Hoi An as an eco-tourist location with total funding of 11.2 billion VND (50,000 USD).

Deputy Chairman of Hoi An city’s people’s committee Nguyen Van Son said the third phase of the project will help train the staff on management skills and give them experience with wastewater treatment, garbage classification at source and rubbish treatment in Naha.

Sơn said the non-refundable project has helped train numerous members of staff and managers to deal with environmental problems and has provided knowledge on planning eco-tours since 2012.

He said the third phase will start from next month and last until 2018.

The UNESCO-recognised world heritage city, in cooperation with Japan International Cooperation Agency, has been preparing the groundwork for a 11.2 million USD waste treatment project.

The project will help treat 2,000 cubic metres of wastewater per day and is scheduled to be put into operation in 2017.

In 2014, the city’s Hoai River and its channels featured in the list of the 10 most famous canals in the world, produced by US-based travel website touropia.com .

The city was chosen for the 2013 Townscape Award by the UN-Habitat Regional Office in Asia and was listed among the top 10 Asian cities in US magazine Conde Nast’s Traveler’s Readers Choice Awards in 2012.

Last year, Hoi An hosted more than 2.1 million tourists, of which 1 million were foreigners.

VNA